National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The 9th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications, is on Saturday September 27, 2014 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. To drop off unused prescription drugs locally in Flatiron, visit the DEA's New York Division at the New York City Police Department's 13th Precinct (at 230 East 21st Street).

This twice annual event drew people to donate 780,158 pounds (390 tons) of pills on April 26th, 2014, a record number of donated drugs in four years since the program began in September 2010. The first Take-Back event was launched by DEA after President Barack Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amended the CSA to allow people, including residents of long term care facilities, to regularly, conveniently, and safely dispose of their CS medications by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them.

Take-Back Days are presently needed because the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as originally written did not provide a way for patients, caregivers, and pet owners to dispose of controlled substance medications, such as painkillers, sedatives, and stimulants. People were flushing their old medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash.

This event is important because the non-medical use of controlled substance medications is at an all-time high, with 6.8 million Americans reporting having abused prescription drugs in 2012, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) released in 2013. That same study revealed more than 54 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.

For more information, visit National Take-Back Initiative onlineor call 1-800-882-9539.